There is no single definition — the chapter says so in its first line: “There are many definitions for this social entity.” What it then gives is the definition anthropologists usually use today. A tribe is a group of families or clans that has five features together:
| # | Feature | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | A tradition of common descent | The members regard themselves as descended from common ancestors |
| 2 | A shared culture | Their own festivals, dress, art, songs, customs and beliefs |
| 3 | A shared language | Often a language spoken by that community alone |
| 4 | A close-knit community under a chief | People know one another; a chief, not a distant government, settles matters |
| 5 | No private property | Land and resources are held in common rather than owned by individuals |
Ancient India had no word for it. This is the most interesting sentence in the box: “tribes were just different janas that lived in a specific environment, such as forests or mountains.” The same word, jana, that the Ṛig Veda uses for the Bharatas and the Kurus. There was no separate category for these communities and therefore no line drawn between 'us' and 'them'. The Constitution of India uses ‘tribes’ and ‘tribal communities’ in English, and janjāti in Hindi — and jan is that same old word.
705 tribes, spread over most States
population about 104 million
— more than the populations of Australia and the United Kingdom together